Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus - Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📗

Story 3 (The Thoughts Of Marcus Aurelius Antonius) Pg 95

Thine Then Has No Reference Either Immediately Or Remotely To A Social

End,  This Tears Asunder Thy Life,  And Does Not Allow It To Be One,  And

It Is Of The Nature Of A Mutiny,  Just As When In A Popular Assembly A

Man Acting By Himself Stands Apart From The General Agreement.

 

24. Quarrels Of Little Children And Their Sports,  And Poor Spirits

Carrying About Dead Bodies [Such Is Everything]; And So What Is

Exhibited In The Representation Of The Mansions Of The Dead[A] Strikes

Our Eyes More Clearly.

 

    [A] [Greek: To Tês Nekuias] May Be,  As Gataker Conjectures,  A

    Dramatic Representation Of The State Of The Dead. Schultz

    Supposes That It May Be Also A Reference To The [Greek: Nekuia]

    Of The Odyssey (Lib. Xi.).

 

25. Examine Into The Quality Of The Form Of An Object,  And Detach It

Altogether From Its Material Part,  And Then Contemplate It; Then

Determine The Time,  The Longest Which A Thing Of This Peculiar Form Is

Naturally Made To Endure.

 

26. Thou Hast Endured Infinite Troubles Through Not Being Contented With

Thy Ruling Faculty When It Does The Things Which It Is Constituted By

Nature To Do. But Enough + [Of This].

 

27. When Another Blames Thee Or Hates Thee,  Or When Men Say About Thee

Anything Injurious,  Approach Their Poor Souls,  Penetrate Within,  And See

What Kind Of Men They Are. Thou Wilt Discover That There Is No Reason To

Take Any Trouble That These Men May Have This Or That Opinion About

Thee. However,  Thou Must Be Well Disposed Towards Them,  For By Nature

They Are Friends. And The Gods Too Aid Them In All Ways,  By Dreams,  By

Signs,  Towards The Attainment Of Those Things On Which They Set A Value.+

 

28. The Periodic Movements Of The Universe Are The Same,  Up And Down

From Age To Age. And Either The Universal Intelligence Puts Itself In

Motion For Every Separate Effect,  And If This Is So,  Be Thou Content

With That Which Is The Result Of Its Activity; Or It Puts Itself In

Motion Once,  And Everything Else Comes By Way Of Sequence[A] In A

Manner; Or Indivisible Elements Are The Origin Of All Things.--In A

Word,  If There Is A God,  All Is Well; And If Chance Rules,  Do Not Thou

Also Be Governed By It (Vi. 44; Vii. 75).

 

    [A] The Words Which Immediately Follow [Greek: Kat'

    Epakolouthêsin] Are Corrupt. But The Meaning Is Hardly

    Doubtful. (Compare Vii. 75.)

 

Soon Will The Earth Cover Us All: Then The Earth,  Too,  Will Change,  And

The Things Also Which Result From Change Will Continue To Change

Forever,  And These Again Forever. For If A Man Reflects On The Changes

And Transformations Which Follow One Another Like Wave After Wave And

Their Rapidity,  He Will Despise Everything Which Is Perishable (Xii.

21).

 

29. The Universal Cause Is Like A Winter Torrent: It Carries Everything

Along With It. But How Worthless Are All These Poor People Who Are

Engaged In Matters Political,  And,  As They Suppose,  Are Playing The

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Philosopher! All Drivellers. Well Then,  Man: Do What Nature Now

Requires. Set Thyself In Motion,  If It Is In Thy Power,  And Do Not Look

About Thee To See If Any One Will Observe It; Nor Yet Expect Plato's

Republic:[A] But Be Content If The Smallest Thing Goes On Well,  And

Consider Such An Event To Be No Small Matter. For Who Can Change Men's

Opinions? And Without A Change Of Opinions What Else Is There Than The

Slavery Of Men Who Groan While They Pretend To Obey? Come Now And Tell

Me Of Alexander And Philippus And Demetrius Of Phalerum. They Themselves

Shall Judge Whether They Discovered What The Common Nature Required,  And

Trained Themselves Accordingly. But If They Acted Like Tragedy Heroes,

No One Has Condemned Me To Imitate Them. Simple And Modest Is The Work

Of Philosophy. Draw Me Not Aside To Insolence And Pride.

 

    [A] Those Who Wish To Know What Plato's Republic Is May Now

    Study It In The Accurate Translation Of Davies And Vaughan.

 

30. Look Down From Above On The Countless Herds Of Men And Their

Countless Solemnities,  And The Infinitely Varied Voyagings In Storms And

Calms,  And The Differences Among Those Who Are Born,  Who Live Together,

And Die. And Consider,  Too,  The Life Lived By Others In Olden Time,  And

The Life Of Those Who Will Live After Thee,  And The Life Now Lived Among

Barbarous Nations,  And How Many Know Not Even Thy Name,  And How Many

Will Soon Forget It,  And How They Who Perhaps Now Are Praising Thee Will

Very Soon Blame Thee,  And That Neither A Posthumous Name Is Of Any

Value,  Nor Reputation,  Nor Anything Else.

 

31. Let There Be Freedom From Perturbations With Respect To The Things

Which Come From The External Cause; And Let There Be Justice In The

Things Done By Virtue Of The Internal Cause,  That Is,  Let There Be

Movement And Action Terminating In This,  In Social Acts,  For This Is

According To Thy Nature.

 

32. Thou Canst Remove Out Of The Way Many Useless Things Among Those

Which Disturb Thee,  For They Lie Entirely In Thy Opinion; And Thou Wilt

Then Gain For Thyself Ample Space By Comprehending The Whole Universe In

Thy Mind,  And By Contemplating The Eternity Of Time,  And Observing The

Rapid Change Of Every Several Thing,  How Short Is The Time From Birth To

Dissolution,  And The Illimitable Time Before Birth As Well As The

Equally Boundless Time After Dissolution!

 

33. All That Thou Seest Will Quickly Perish,  And Those Who Have Been

Spectators Of Its Dissolution Will Very Soon Perish Too. And He Who Dies

At The Extremest Old Age Will Be Brought Into The Same Condition With

Him Who Died Prematurely.

 

34. What Are These Men's Leading Principles,  And About What Kind Of

Things Are They Busy,  And For What Kind Of Reasons Do They Love And

Honor? Imagine That Thou Seest Their Pool Souls Laid Bare. When They

Think That They Do Harm By Their Blame Or Good By Their Praise,  What An

Idea!

 

35. Loss Is Nothing Else Than Change. But The Universal Nature Delights

In Change,  And In Obedience To Her All Things Are Now Done Well,  And

From Eternity Have Been In Like Form,  And Will Be Such To Time Without

End. What,  Then,  Dost Thou Say,--That All Things Have Been And All

Things Always Will Be Bad,  And That No Power Has Ever Been Found In So

Many Gods To Rectify These Things,  But The World Has Been Condemned To

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Be Bound In Never Ceasing Evil (Iv. 45,  Vii. 18)?

 

36. The Rottenness Of The Matter Which Is The Foundation Of Everything!

Water,  Dust,  Bones,  Filth: Or Again,  Marble Rocks,  The Callosities Of

The Earth; And Gold And Silver,  The Sediments; And Garments,  Only Bits

Of Hair; And Purple Dye,  Blood; And Everything Else Is Of The Same Kind.

And That Which Is Of The Nature Of Breath Is Also Another Thing Of The

Same Kind,  Changing From This To That.

 

37. Enough Of This Wretched Life And Murmuring And Apish Tricks. Why Art

Thou Disturbed? What Is There New In This? What Unsettles Thee? Is It

The Form Of The Thing? Look At It. Or Is It The Matter? Look At It. But

Besides These There Is Nothing. Towards The Gods Then,  Now Become At

Last More Simple And Better. It Is The Same Whether We Examine These

Things For A Hundred Years Or Three.

 

38. If A Man Has Done Wrong The Harm Is His Own. But Perhaps He Has Not

Done Wrong.

 

39. Either All Things Proceed From One Intelligent Source And Come

Together As In One Body,  And The Part Ought Not To Find Fault With What

Is Done For The Benefit Of The Whole; Or There Are Only Atoms,  And

Nothing Else Than Mixture And Dispersion. Why,  Then,  Art Thou Disturbed?

Say To The Ruling Faculty,  Art Thou Dead,  Art Thou Corrupted,  Art Thou

Playing The Hypocrite,  Art Thou Become A Beast,  Dost Thou Herd And Feed

With The Rest?[A]

 

    [A] There Is Some Corruption At The End Of This Section,  But I

    Think That The Translation Expresses The Emperor's Meaning.

    Whether Intelligence Rules All Things Or Chance Rules,  A Man

    Must Not Be Disturbed. He Must Use The Power That He Has And Be

    Tranquil.

 

40. Either The Gods Have No Power Or They Have Power. If,  Then,  They

Have No Power,  Why Dost Thou Pray To Them? But If They Have Power,  Why

Dost Thou Not Pray For Them To Give Thee The Faculty Of Not Fearing Any

Of The Things Which Thou Fearest,  Or Of Not Desiring Any Of The Things

Which Thou Desirest,  Or Not Being Pained At Anything,  Rather Than Pray

That Any Of These Things Should Not Happen Or Happen? For Certainly If

They Can Co-Operate With Men,  They Can Co-Operate For These Purposes.

But Perhaps Thou Wilt Say The Gods Have Placed Them In Thy Power. Well,

Then,  Is It Not Better To Use What Is In Thy Power Like A Free Man Than

To Desire In A Slavish And Abject Way What Is Not In Thy Power? And Who

Has Told Thee That The Gods Do Not Aid Us,  Even In The Things Which Are

In Our Power? Begin,  Then,  To Pray For Such Things,  And Thou Wilt See.

One Man Prays Thus: How Shall I Be Able To Lie With That Woman? Do Thou

Pray Thus: How Shall I Not Desire To Lie With Her? Another Prays Thus:

How Shall I Be Released From This? Pray Thou: How Shall I Not Desire To

Be Released? Another Thus: How Shall I Not Lose My Little Son? Thou

Thus: How Shall I Not Be Afraid To Lose Him? In Fine,  Turn Thy Prayers

This Way,  And See What Comes.

 

41. Epicurus Says,  In My Sickness My Conversation Was Not About My

Bodily Sufferings,  Nor,  Says He,  Did I Talk On Such Subjects To Those

Who Visited Me; But I Continued To Discourse On The Nature Of Things As